26 October, 2007

Dr. Alexandra Cook is assistant professor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. Her field of research is the European Enlightenment, and one of its most important philosophers, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778); Rousseau has been called the first “green” philosopher.

Dr. Cook has published several papers and book chapters about Rousseau’s ideas on botany and nature, and is currently writing a book entitled JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU AND BOTANY: THE SALUTARY SCIENCE. She has also translated and edited Rousseau’s botanical writings into English. Previous to joining the University of Hong Kong, she held a teaching fellowship at the University of Chicago

MC: Did you always know that you wanted to teach philosophy, even as a young person? Or did you let your academic interests lead you step-by-step onto this path? Can you describe for our readers how you came to become a Rousseau scholar?

AC: Landing in this job was the result of a gradual progression, not a definitive plan from a young age. I was always a book-worm, but never imagined myself in a Philosophy Department; I ended up in one because I studied political philosophy in graduate school, Rousseau in particular. I came to Rousseau because he studied nature in some detail and seemed convinced that this is an activity of practically universal value. Some other philosophers such as Aristotle and Kant conducted scientific studies as well, but they did not place the same social and moral value on this activity.

MC: What is the job of a Philosopher in this day and age? And who are some examples of philosophers you’ve admired - both historical and contemporary - along with examples of their contributions to humanity?

AC: I would not call myself a “philosopher”; I think this title should be reserved for really profound thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant and some others. Rather, I teach students about philosophical ideas in their historical context. No idea arises in a vacuum; by the same token, however, philosophical ideas do have a life beyond the time and place in which they developed, e.g. Aristotle’s ideas on democracy (the best of the worst regimes).

Concerning philosophers I admire, I could write a book; Aristotle would definitely rate highly for the breadth of his interests in such diverse areas as biology and politics; his scientific approach enabled him to typologize political regimes on the basis of studying 150 constitutions of Greek cities. If we include natural philosophers in the category of philosopher, I could mention many seventeenth- and eighteenth-century scientists, most prominently, Carolus Linnaeus, who named and organized plants and animals in a particularly efficient and useful way. He made nature thereby more accessible.

MC: Would you consider yourself as more of an Academic or a Philosopher? Why?

AC: I am definitely more of an academic than a philosopher, for the reasons mentioned above. I produce scholarly work, but I would not call this work philosophical—rather, it is about philosophy. I differ from many colleagues in believing that there are in fact very few philosophers in any given period of time; to think so deeply and profoundly is very demanding and requires special intellectual and character traits; such a devotion to the life of the mind, the vita contemplative, usually requires some departure from the mundane world most of us inhabit. For example, a large percentage of the well-known philosophers led rather lonely existences and never married. Notable exceptions are Aristotle and Hegel, who married and had families. Descartes had an illegitimate daughter with his servant. Rousseau had several out-of-wedlock children with his mistress (a laundress), and only married her much later.

MC: Using the knowledge and experience that you’ve gained in your years of teaching and in your travels and studies, can you share with our youthful readership some insights into possible careers in both academics and - if it exists - as a modern day career philosopher. What would predisposition someone to succeed in either of these types of endeavors?

AC: I think the true academic must love solitude most of the time, but also be able to deliver theatrical performances in the classroom a few times a week. Of course, most of us are not like that! So if you don’t like spending lots of time alone reading, writing and doing other academic tasks, this might not be the life for you. And it is a life, not just a job. You can never leave your work behind; it is always with you as you try to work out the ideas you are going to write about.

MC: IF you could choose again, with all that you’ve learned in these years of working and teaching and living, would you choose this same path again? Why, or why not?
AC: Maybe the same path, but with a different MO; I have not always followed all the academic rules about what to publish when—the academy is like a medieval guild, and if you don’t want to subscribe to its traditions, you may find it a difficult place to inhabit.

MC: Do you have some words of wisdom to share with our readers, some insight into human nature perhaps, or just some words to inspire them to make the most of their circumstances to do the most with what they have?

AC: The Delphic Oracle told Socrates: “Know thyself.” I would say, follow your heart, not what your parents, peers or anyone else tells you to do; be yourself.

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